TFWYH – Chapter 63 Snow-Walking Friends

Yang shi: !

Of course she could! More than happy to, really!

Three months, ninety days, twenty copper coins a day—that’s two taels of silver, and there’d still be two hundred coins left over!

Earning two hundred coins in three months—that was already a lot.

“Deal!” Yang shi agreed immediately, smiling brightly. “Leave it to me. I promise your horse will have fresh radish leaves every single day!”

“Thank you, Auntie!” Hearing her switch to a more familiar way of addressing herself, Tang Wan played along and responded accordingly.

The two chatted cheerfully, getting along very well.

Well, most of the time it was Yang shi doing the talking while Tang Wan quietly listened.

Yang shi was truly “well-informed and knowledgeable”—who knew where she got all her gossip from?

Tang Wan stayed for a little while and ended up learning quite a few of the village’s hidden secrets.

For example, the widow Hong who lived to the south had once been a flower courtesan at the Yi Hong Courtyard in town—and had affairs with quite a few men in the village.

For example, Doctor Zhang’s daughter, Zhang Tao, didn’t actually go visit relatives. She had discovered her father having an affair with a widow and, furious, returned to her maternal grandparents’ home.

For example, the village chief’s wife was ferocious and didn’t get along with her daughter-in-law, eventually forcing her son’s entire family to move into town.

Or that one man whose armpits reeked so badly he couldn’t find a wife.

And that Ling family’s eldest son, Ling Canghe, was supposedly incredible in bed—every time he came home, he left Qian shi moaning so much she couldn’t get out of bed for days. Their neighbors could hear everything.

…

Tang Wan: ………

I know too much. Am I going to be silenced?

Scared

By the time she left Yang shi’s house, the father and son still hadn’t returned.

Yang shi muttered to herself, wondering why they were coming home so late today.

When Tang Wan got back home, the mother and sons had already returned. Ling Yue was busy packing up jars of fermented bean paste.

Meanwhile, Jiang shi and little Ling Chen were squatting curiously in front of Taxue, both staring at it with wide, round eyes.

Their expressions were eerily in sync!

Taxue snorted softly in embarrassment under their stare!

Thankfully it was black—otherwise, you could probably see its horse face turning red.

As soon as Tang Wan entered, the mother and son immediately stood up.

Jiang shi gave a soft cough, looking a bit embarrassed.

Little Ling Chen ran over and hugged Tang Wan’s leg. He looked up at her with his innocent little face and said something extremely brutal:

“Big Sis-in-law, are we eating horse meat tonight?”

“…”

Tang Wan clearly saw Taxue shrink its neck.

Looking down at Ling Chen, she shook her head and firmly said, “We can’t eat Taxue—it’s a friend!”

“Friend?” Ling Chen tilted his little head, not quite understanding what that meant.

Tang Wan explained, “A friend is someone who isn’t related by blood, but still understands, trusts, and never betrays you—an important companion.”

These were words once spoken by Dr. X to 0527. He hadn’t treated 0527 like a robot, but as a true friend.

At the memory of the doctor, Tang Wan’s expression softened noticeably. She rubbed Ling Chen’s little head and continued, “Ah Chen is still young, you don’t understand yet.”

“I will understand—if I become friends with Taxue, I’ll understand!” Ling Chen huffed and ran off to talk to Taxue.

Jiang shi looked worried and couldn’t help but say, “Wan-niang, horses are a luxury. People like us can’t afford to raise one!”

Tang Wan opened her mouth to respond, but before she could speak, Ling Yue—who had been silent the whole time—spoke up.

“Mother, it’s just a horse. If Sister-in-law wants to keep it, let her. It’s not a big deal. Besides, once the horse recovers, it can help us carry things. It won’t be a loss.”